Common butterwort

Common butterwort: description, habitats and healing properties

Common butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) is a rare perennial plant that belongs to the bladderwort family (Lentibulariaceae). The plant is a protected plant and its name comes from the Latin word "pinguis", which means fatty, and refers to the adhesive glands on the leaves that trap small insects. Buttergrass is also known by the popular names “blue buttergrass” and “buttergrass.”

The above-ground parts of the plant are used, the pharmaceutical name of which is butterwort herb (Pinguicuke herba, formerly Herba Pinguiculae). Zhiryanka is found mainly in high bogs and rocks at an altitude of up to 2000 meters, where it is quite humid. The butterwort blooms, depending on the habitat, from June to September.

The butterwort is a “predatory plant”, just like the sundew, and is capable of trapping small insects. To do this, on the leaves of the butterwort there are adhesive glands that hold insects, as well as glands that secrete digestive juice, with the help of which insects are digested. Thus, the plant provides itself with nitrogen, which is absent in the soil, but which it urgently needs.

Zhiryanka contains traces of essential oil, minerals, organic acids, antispasmodic substances, protein-decomposing enzymes and labenzyme. It can also help soothe the irritating cough of whooping cough. However, butterwort is not as popular in the treatment of colds and coughs as sundew.

Side effects of zhiryanka are unknown. It should also be noted that due to the rarity of the plant and the complexity of its preparation, mass collection is out of the question. Anyone who deals with butterwort should also include sundew in his circle of interests, since these two plants have similar properties and are often found in the same habitats.

Thus, the common butterwort is an interesting and rare plant that has predatory properties and can help alleviate coughing from whooping cough. However, due to the complexity of harvesting and the rarity of the plant, its mass collection is not possible.